Stubbornness
by Tari Silmarwen
Summary: Robin has trouble admitting when he's hurt.


(A/N)- Whumptober prompt again. "Secret Injury" screamed Robin so I had to.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: La dee da, still not owning Teen Titans, bummer.

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**Stubbornness**

"Watch out!"

Beast Boy's shrill warning sounded mere moments before the little metal sphere thrown by Gizmo exploded.

The Titans dove for cover every which way as the sphere plumed into a fireball, bursting wooden crates all around. Shrapnel and rubble and bits of popped aluminum soda cans from inside the pallets flew through the air.

Robin's adrenaline ran high as he crouched down, arms over his head and heart racing.

"Ha ha! See ya kludgeheads!" Gizmo taunted, as Jinx threw down a hex for good measure before she and Mammoth followed the pint-size villain through the hole in the ceiling.

The hex loosened a support beam, which crumpled, groaning, and swung down towards them. Robin uncovered his head. Seeing Beast Boy in the falling beam's path, he popped up, on his feet instantly, running towards him.

"Move!" he shouted, his hands catching Beast Boy's back and pushing them both out of the downward arc.

He came up just short, the very end of the beam catching him in the side. Robin gave a breathless grunt as the sharp jolt thudded into him, wobbling back a step or two.

Robin shook his head, recovering quickly. He glanced all around the half-finished renovation area, checking on his team. Beast Boy and Starfire were both in the clear, and Cyborg was standing up from behind a pile of spoiled frozen vegetables, brushing dirt off his arms. Where was—?

Raven emerged from under a black shield dome, dropping her hands.

Relieved, Robin pushed aside the remains of a fruit crate. "Is everyone all right?"

"The MiltonMart's gonna be really unhappy about all their ruined backstock," Cyborg commented in lieu of an answer.

"That's the least of their worries, if the HIVE trio manage to get away with that cash safe," Raven pointed out.

"Quickly friends!" Starfire exclaimed, already beginning to float up towards the hole. "We must pursue!"

She rushed out, followed by Beast Boy in eagle form. Cyborg took the long way and ran for a maintenance door.

Raven was about to follow her teammates through the open ceiling when she glanced back. Robin had hesitated, a distracted look on his face. A hand touched his side lightly.

"You okay?" she asked, peering at him.

His hand dropped, waving her off. "It's nothing," he dismissed. "You go on ahead. I'll try to cut them off at the overpass."

Her lips pressed together, doubt etched in her expression, but she didn't press the matter.

She floated up, soundlessly, disappearing after Starfire and Beast Boy.

Robin let out a long exhale, looking down. He tugged out the hem of his tunic and shirt and carefully peeled the fabric away from his skin.

Sticky blood coated the inside of his shirt. Robin hissed through his teeth, wincing as the wound blossomed with fresh pain. The sharp ache echoed up his torso and through his head.

Dazed, he reached across with his other hand, touching the gash with his fingers. He looked towards the fallen support beam, only now noticing the sharp point of the massive loose screw sticking from the side of the end that had bashed him. The greaves were lightly lined with red.

Robin's hand fumbled with the bunched up fabric he held, finding the tear he hadn't noticed, poking a finger through.

His hypothesis confirmed, the Boy Wonder's shoulders slumped a bit. He glanced anxiously towards the door, then searched the surrounding debris for anything he could use to staunch the wound.

A couple moments of searching turned up a roll of paper towels.

_Better than nothing_, he decided, tearing off several strips, folding them all together in a thick pad and inserting it up against his side.

He held in a cry as his hand pressed down. Red seeped through the pad almost at once. Robin shoved down his shirt, tucking it back in, tingling nerves sounding through his head. The pain was a blaring alarm, warning him.

He ignored it. His eyes darted towards the door again, as he tightened his belt.

_I don't have time for better_, he told himself. _We can't let HIVE get away._

The lie sounded hysterically weak even inside his own head. Pushing the mission to the forefront of his thoughts, Robin jogged towards the maintenance door and pushed it open with both hands.

-TT-

The Titans caught up with the HIVE trio about two blocks down, outside an office complex. As Starfire and Cyborg duked it out with Mammoth, dodging his fists and the heavy safe, Robin swung down from the overpass to intercept Jinx.

His kick sent her flying away, and Robin grit his teeth through the pain that burned in his side.

Jinx got up from the ground, groaning. She ducked Beast Boy, lunging over her head in lion form to bite down on one of Gizmo's mechanical spider legs, and then immediately had to turn and engage Robin.

She gave under the onslaught at first, only able to block his rapid strikes, but then, as the fight went on, found herself holding up remarkably well.

She studied her opponent as she stepped back, giving ground. Robin's mouth was set in a flat frown, and from the tension in his neck it looked like his jaw was clenched. His breaths were shallow through his nose and his expression was intensely concentrated. But his movements lacked some of the normal ferocity and grace she expected of him.

Jinx smirked. "You're getting slow, Boy Wonder," she taunted. "It shouldn't be this easy to keep up with you. What's the matter, spending too many nights lazing around in front of the TV?"

He scowled, but didn't reply.

Behind them, Gizmo shot pellets from his mounted shoulder gun, which pinged harmlessly against Raven's shield. Starfire and Cyborg had Mammoth well in hand, at least until the older teen hurled the safe at them. Cyborg tackled Starfire out of the way as it crashed into a parked car.

Robin landed a lucky kick to Jinx's back, she went sprawling and was almost instantly set upon by Beast Boy, sitting on her in doberman form. She started to throw him off and the changeling became something heavier—namely, a large Arctic seal.

"Oh _come on!_" Jinx groaned as his weight crushed her back down.

Robin turned his attention to Mammoth, charging in with a yell.

A smidge late he realized he was going to overshoot. Mammoth sidestepped, turning as Robin came about and casually throwing a punch.

Straight into Robin's injured side.

The battlefield froze at the inhuman yelp that rose up from him, shrill and trembling, a shriek of unholy agony. Robin collapsed backwards, open-mouthed and wide-eyed, shock etched on his features, one hand grabbing tightly for his side.

He sat there, gasping helplessly.

Mammoth stepped back, an almost apologetic look on his face. "Woah…" he said.

"Robin!" Starfire immediately ceased her starbolt strafe at Gizmo and rushed to his side. Her knees hit the pavement as she dropped next to him.

"Dude!" Beast Boy exclaimed, morphing back to human form and running up as well, forgetting Jinx entirely. "Are you okay?"

They couldn't see what was wrong with him at first. Then, peering at where his hand was pressed, Starfire spotted the growing patch of darker red on his tunic, and inhaled sharply, clapping a hand to her mouth.

Frantically, she pried his palm away from his side, pushing up his shirt.

The underside and the paper towel pad both were soaked through, bright red next to Robin's pale skin. Robin's face screwed up in pain and he collapsed the rest of the way to the ground, his right arm giving out on him.

"Oh man…" Beast Boy said, looking at the wound in horror. "Rae! You better get over here!" he called.

She and Cyborg closed ranks, circling around their leader. Behind them, the HIVE trio gaped, slowly congregating, moving backwards.

Jinx was the first to recover.

"Come—come on, let's go!" she urged, tugging at Mammoth's arm and leading them off down the street.

They ran off.

Raven pushed her way past Starfire, wincing and biting her lip when she saw Robin. "You absolute _idiot!_" she growled, both hands putting pressure on the wound. "You shouldn't have hid this!"

"Aaah…" he only whimpered, as the pressure sent reeves of pain flooding through him.

"Star, take his head," Raven instructed. "I need some space to work."

Starfire shifted around, moving around Raven. Gingerly, she lifted Robin's head into her lap.

He panted, staring up at her. She reached down for his hand, gripping it tightly, trying to give him a smile.

"It… it will be okay," she said, her voice shaking.

Raven had her eyes closed, going tranquil.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos…" she recited. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos…"

Her hands glowed with blue aura.

Robin's face began to relax. His vision got blurrier and blurrier, and the last thing he saw were the Titans' worried faces crowding around him.

-TT-

He awoke in the Tower's medbay, still surrounded by them.

He groaned and lay a hand across his face.

"HIVE got away, didn't they?" he said.

"Yes, they did," Raven confirmed. "Because we were attending to something _more important_. Namely, you not _dying_." Her voice was laced with irritation, and it made Robin flinch.

"I wasn't… I wouldn't have…" His tongue got tied in knots and he fisted a hand in his hair.

Cyborg crossed his arms sternly. "You've gotta stop doing this, Rob," he said. "It's becoming a bad habit."

Guilt stricken across his face, Robin sighed and sat up, wincing when his side gave a pang. He could feel the clean bandages under his clothes. He touched them gently, eyes down, hanging his head.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I just…" He let out a breath. "I didn't want to slow you guys down."

"Dude, you've got nothing to prove to us," Beast Boy piped up. "We all know you're just as strong and capable as anyone."

Starfire stepped forward, jumping in, hands wringing in front of her chest. "But you _must_ take care of yourself!" she scolded gently. "You must let _us _take care of_ you_." Her vibrant green eyes were soft and full of concern. She placed a hand on the bedrail. "We are your friends, Robin," she reminded him. "We are here for you."

The words warmed him, brightening his expression a bit. "Thanks," he said quietly. He carefully adjusted himself on the bed, lowering one of the rails and swinging his legs down over the side. "How bad was it?" he asked Raven.

"You're lucky you didn't bleed out," she snarked. She brushed a hand through the hair by her ear. "I can speed up the healing process, but I want you to take _at least_ one full day to rest," she said firmly.

Robin made a face.

"She's the doctor, Robin," Beast Boy said, shrugging his shoulders. "I'd listen to her."

He gave a sigh of defeat as he slid down from the cot. "All right," he said. "Keep me posted on HIVE, and let me know if they crawl out of hiding." He started walking past them towards the door. "I guess I'll go file some paperwork."

"May I join you?" Starfire offered, which finally drew a smile from him.

"Sure. I could use some company," he said.

Starfire eagerly floated by his side as they left the medbay.

The door hissed closed.

"He's going to give me a conniption," Raven complained.

Beast Boy bounced towards the door. "Don't worry, Rae. We'll make sure he takes it easy tomorrow."

"Hmm, we'd better go hide his communicator," Cyborg mused, following the changeling. "Otherwise he'll be calling us every hour for updates."

Raven merely dissolved into the floor, phasing through the walls to her room for some _much_ needed meditation.


End file.
